Burnette was doing maintenance inside the billboard when a catwalk trapdoor he was standing on gave way. Burnette was rescued and transported to Arlington Memorial Hospital in critical condition where he later died.

The lawsuit, filed last Friday, said Burnette was trying to secure his safety harness to the railing when the door failed, The Dallas Morning News reports.

The family seeks unspecified damages from the Cowboys and Burnette's employer, the paper reported. The suit also names two companies who designed and built the billboard.